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2025-26 Vermont Catamounts

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92K views 756 replies 49 participants last post by  VT Cats Fan  
#1 ·
Flush it. New season starts now.

8 Scholarships Used - 5 Scholarships Available

1 YEAR REMAINING
-Sam Alamutu
-TJ Hurley
-Shy Odom

2 YEARS REMAINING
-Seth Joba

3 YEARS REMAINING
-Noah Barnett
-Sean Blake

4 YEARS REMAINING
-Momo Nkugwa
-Ben Wesson
-Drew Bessette (walk-on)
-Sincere Clemons (walk-on)

COACH: John Becker

For the time being, I've decided to just advance Long and Odom one year even though they may be eligible for medical redshirts that would retain that year of eligibility. As we get more definitive clarity, we can adjust. So we don't need to debate it for eternity, I'm aware.

Current #HeardFrom Radar:

Toby Harris, 6-8 F, Brandeis, 1 YTP
Jaden Baker, 6-2 G, Frostburg State, 1 YTP

Open Offers to Non-NCAA Players:

Will Goode, 6-9 F, New Hampton School (NH), 4 YTP
Isaac Finlinson, 6-8 F, Snow JC (UT), 2 YTP
Isaac Garrett, 6-9 F, Snow JC (UT), 2 YTP

(VerbalCommits is not up to date: Jo Lee committed to Le Moyne a while ago, his offer is not open)

Schedule Stuff?

Expect the Yale and Dartmouth series to continue, unless the sun burns out. Both at home. Return games with Merrimack (Home), Iona (Home), Buffalo (Away). Wouldn't be crazy to see Northeastern, Brown, or Colgate continue but I believe the most recent H&H's have been completed.
 
#7 ·
If a coach is already talking about a player who hasn't stepped foot on campus being a redshirt candidate when this many minutes are up for grabs that should be very concerning.

Just my hunch on roster movement

Near lock to be in the portal: Joba...only way he's back is if they tell him he can come back which is a sign they're afraid they can't find bodies to replace him.

Wouldn't shock me: Bessette, Clemons, Wesson (the former 2 can stick around as walk ons again next year if UVM isn't opting into rev sharing as suggested, but they'd either need to be converted to a scholarship or leave the following year when the count increases from 13 to 15, as walk ons no longer allowed in the new rules)

Could see trying new things: Alamutu (if senior day opened a slight possibly of moving on, I could see him going to some other D1 to get a bigger or better role than what he has and lead a 5-24 team in scoring or take a small check to be a bench guy on a bigger conference team that needs "winning culture" players)

I think he's coming back unless someone offers him money that he's not worth: TJ Hurley. That total dud of a performance the other night doesn't help him, and while Becker might be right that stat hunter assistant coaches or player agents who use stats to lure guys out into the portal might be willing to throw a figure at him, TJ Hurley is a fine AE player...and I'm highly skeptical he's of the ability to contribute outside of minor roles at a higher level. I would not see the point of moving laterally unless he was guaranteed a six-figure payout at a fellow one-bid. That's up to him to decide ultimately...I have no insight into what he'll do, but I lean that he stays.

The shock transfer: Blake. Not sourced, but, I wouldn't rule it out in this day and age. Outside of Hurley, he very clearly needs to be the one that is most re-recruited since his upside is clear. I don't think his NIL market is strong, this is mostly a "transfer here and we'll play you 30 mins a game and let you take 15 shots a game" type of transfer UVM has to ward off.

Likely back: Odom, Barnett, Long (pending waiver outcome).
 
#4 ·
Hate speculating about transfers but probably fair/reasonable to expect Joba will not be returning. One of the more obvious cases I can remember, especially given the injuries and available depth. When your coach would rather just play 7 players…pretty telling.
 
#5 ·
Flush it. New season starts now.

8 Scholarships Used - 5 Scholarships Available

1 YEAR REMAINING
-Sam Alamutu
-TJ Hurley
-Shy Odom

2 YEARS REMAINING
-Seth Joba

3 YEARS REMAINING
-Noah Barnett
-Sean Blake

4 YEARS REMAINING
-Momo Nkugwa
-Ben Wesson
-Drew Bessette (walk-on)
-Sincere Clemons (walk-on)

COACH: John Becker

For the time being, I've decided to just advance Long and Odom one year even though they may be eligible for medical redshirts that would retain that year of eligibility. As we get more definitive clarity, we can adjust. So we don't need to debate it for eternity, I'm aware.

Current #HeardFrom Radar:

Toby Harris, 6-8 F, Brandeis, 1 YTP
Jaden Baker, 6-2 G, Frostburg State, 1 YTP

Open Offers to Non-NCAA Players:

Will Goode, 6-9 F, New Hampton School (NH), 4 YTP
Isaac Finlinson, 6-8 F, Snow JC (UT), 2 YTP
Isaac Garrett, 6-9 F, Snow JC (UT), 2 YTP

(VerbalCommits is not up to date: Jo Lee committed to Le Moyne a while ago, his offer is not open)

Schedule Stuff?

Expect the Yale and Dartmouth series to continue, unless the sun burns out. Both at home. Return games with Merrimack (Home), Iona (Home), Buffalo (Away). Wouldn't be crazy to see Northeastern, Brown, or Colgate continue but I believe the most recent H&H's have been completed.
v
Hate speculating about transfers but probably fair/reasonable to expect Joba will not be returning. One of the more obvious cases I can remember, especially given the injuries and available depth. When your coach would rather just play 7 players…pretty telling.
Couldn’t agree more. Seth would benefit from a new program.
 
#21 ·
What most people care about on here "She serves as one of 24 members of the NCAA Division I Board of Directors from the hundreds of Division I institutions across the country."

So guys, she knows what an athletics field looks like!

That being said, I wouldn't get my hopes up that athletics is even remotely a priority for UVM institutionally for her, or the board of trustees.
 
#22 ·
Maybe, Maybe not. Once she gets in there and sees how things run change could be coming. With Ian Boyce on the BOT, I bet he is chomping at the bit to get men's hockey relevent again. Whenever there is change at the top, everyone below gets very nervous and protective of their space. She has a seat at the table nationally, so I would think she would know what a functioning athletic department looked like.
 
#31 ·
Just never was able to click. Defense was never improving, and got a lot of opportunities minutes-wise to build/grow but just never improved.

What’s crazy though is now we wouldn’t be able to land a HS freshman with Joba’s skill set/other D1 offers w/ out NIL.
 
#32 ·
Just never was able to click. Defense was never improving, and got a lot of opportunities minutes-wise to build/grow but just never improved.

What’s crazy though is now we wouldn’t be able to land a HS freshman with Joba’s skill set/other D1 offers w/ out NIL.
The NCAA waiver for 25-26 for graduating players with years in NAIA or JUCO makes this more possible than you might suspect.
 
#43 ·
Know you’re kidding but I thought Barnett was great this season. He was productive with whatever minutes he got. He finished around the rim- something UVM’s most talented players struggled with, candidly. Bro shot 70% FG.

I feel like the future is bright for us/Noah in our front court.
 
#44 ·
Tell this to O'Grady who is spam following every one of these guys, knowing full well he's got no chance in hell with them, NIL or not, because these guy aren't going in the portal to go from Central Arkansas' leading scorer and rebounder to Vermont even if UVM had $100k to offer them.

It's early portal days, and some "shoot your shot" logic can apply, but it sometimes shocks me how it feels this staff has never learned its lesson on where to find value that's actually interested in playing for you in the portal at times. Attempting to even get in the mix with these types of guys and their agents is a total waste of time.
 
#40 ·
If there is enough money left in the till for three new guys after dealing with the retention issue, I’d be targeting a true big with some touch around the rim, a guy who can come in and run the point immediately so that Blake can continue to develop, and a stretch forward. The big doesn’t need to be 6’10” or a superstar but I think we should be able to find somebody good enough to be effective in our league.
 
#41 ·
Veteran PG who preferably can shoot the 3. Blake hasn't demonstrated the necessary consistency to anoint him the starter as a sophomore.
2 Stretch 4's to replace Fiorillo's spot in the offense and what should have been Joba's role off the bench.
Athletic rim protector/slasher who can at least be passable from the midrange or 3. Ayo-Faleye is going to be near impossible to replace.
3 and D wing
Combo guard with 3 level scoring ability.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Pretty obvious we need perimeter shooting first, second, and third. Will feel much better in that department when/if we get confirmation Hurley & Long are returning.

Then ball handling- we badly need more guys that can get to the rim when we can’t get a shot going and just better handles in general. Then focus on size/interior.
 
#45 ·
Agreed. They seem to have an overinflated idea of the draw to play in Burlington. There's a reason I haven't bothered listing the presumed D1 portal guys in my offseason thread. That's because they are so far down the desired destination list that they're literally wasting their time contacting them. It'll be fine once the dust settles, but there's way too much money out there for right now for guys to be jumping to commit here.
 
#46 ·
ROSTER UPDATE (3/18): Seth Joba is off to The Portal, but adding TJ Long back on based on Becker's season wrap-up comments.

8 Scholarships Used - 5 Scholarships Available

1 YEAR REMAINING
-Sam Alamutu
-TJ Hurley
-TJ Long
-Shy Odom

2 YEARS REMAINING
-NONE

3 YEARS REMAINING
-Noah Barnett
-Sean Blake

4 YEARS REMAINING
-Momo Nkugwa
-Ben Wesson
-Drew Bessette (walk-on)
-Sincere Clemons (walk-on)

COACH: John Becker
 
#47 ·
I remember thinking the coaching staff was brutal with Ryan Davis as a freshman. Sometimes he'd come in for one play, get a foul, and come right back out. And recieve a tongue lashing for his effort. Some players respond by getting pissed - and getting better. Some just get demoralized. I think Seth Joba just got demoralized. So afraid to make a mistake that he couldn't help but do exactly that. Hopefully he finds his niche.
 
#48 ·
Welcome to the offseason! We're nostalgic for Ryan Davis. He was heavilly recruited, perhaps as much as any player to ever come to Vermont, much more than Seth, who had about a dozen offers. In short, Ryan had skills and size. Because of necessity, he played a lot his freshman year when he wasn't truly ready. I don't recall the staff being brutal with him. Perhaps they were stern and intense. Ryan also played with a lot better players, for much of his career behind Lamb. Whatever the formula, it worked. It never felt like it clicked with Seth, besides the Duke game. I wish him well.
 
#49 ·
I will also say this about Ryan Davis (which is not intended to mean I'm not saying it about Joba, or other similar guys): that guy worked seriously hard when we weren't watching. The body transformation on that guy was remarkable from HS SR to College SR. I think some of his old HS clips are still on YouTube. You could see some skills, but he got himself into a position where he could really showcase them, plus some new ones he picked up along the way.

Again, this isn't meant to dog other guys. But Davis was 100% a guy who understood that success began and ended with him.
 
#51 ·
On paper you hate to see it not work out w/ Joba- great size/agility for a big and skills. But, at some point you have to start being able to put it together. When Joba played this season he got lost on defensive rotations, mostly just fouled his man, turned the ball over, shot 29% FG including 3-14 on 2pt FGs. In other words….we could hope he finds it within himself to develop to make more of an impact, or can move on and find a better fit for both parties.